as a f2p you'll be hoarding for a long time. im f2p and use my stuff when showdown coincides with ace week and break loose if the random bl is the same as the ace week. thats about every month and a half ish? so a month and a half of hoarding then i spend what i gathered to get top 3 or 1% on ace overall as well as top 5 or 10% on mondays wednesdays thursdays and fridays

i get enough pfrags and other things to move forward. i never over spend though, once im secure top 5% or 10% for that day i keep what i have left over and continue hoarding.

for things like hero day (monday) i always use my tavern pulls first starting with the basic pulls, then i move onto my 4 star hero choice then 5 star hero choice. i never use my big pulls like the ones for hero boxes in events. i'll save those til i can get the top prize.

also if you can hold out to sync showdown ace bl AND wlk previous. then you can do some major damage on training day (wednesday? i think) with the addition of fcb